User:GreenLipstickLesbian/Jama Coaque Culture

The Jama-Coaque culture (c. 550 BCE) c. 350 BCE

is a South American archaeological culture from the Regional Developmental Period, noted for their ceramic art and figurines. They settled primarily between the Jama and Coaque rivers, north of the present-day Manabí Province, Ecuador. Nearby volcanic eruptions shaped the culture, leading archeologists to divide it into multiple, distinct, periods. .

Archaeologist Betty Meggers referred to the Jama-Coaque culture as "one of the most highly developed portions of the coast during the Regional Developmental Period."

History
The Jama-Coaque period takes place primarily during the Regional Developmental period of Ecuador. This period is characterized by increased complexity in the fields of art, technology, and politics. In particular, the people developed new methods of creation, and new styles, of ceramic pottery. Techniques include the use of moulds, as well as negative painting in the firing process. However, the Jama-Coaque culture also extended through the Integration period, lasting until Spanish contact.

Before the Jama-Coaque
Two other archaologicla cultures are known to have lived in the Jama-Valley before the Jama-Coaque people: the Valdivia culture and the Chorrera culture. Both groups were displaced by volcanic eruptions from the Guagua Pichincha and Pululahua volcanos, respectively, leaving the valley unoccupied for centuries before the next group moved in.

Guagua Pichincha eruption and resettlement
The eruption of the Pichincha volcano sometime between c. 70 CE and c. 90 ADmarked the end of the Jama-Coaque I culture. The eruption coated the Jama valley in a layer of sediment up to 1.78 m deep. (This was obviously really great for the agriculture), and the surviving residents fled the valley. They would not return for over three centuries.

It is not currently known what the Jama-Coaque people did during this time, or how they preserved their cultures. Archaeologists have found Jama-Coaque archeological sites near modern-day Chone, indicating that they may have establishment new settlements in more habitable regions.

There is no evidence to indicate that Jama-Coaque valley itself remained anything but unoccupied for over three-hundred years. However, other researchers, such as James Ziedler from University of Illinois, believe that a lack of samples may have given modern-day researchers the false impression that the valley stayed abandoned long after it actually was.

Until 2008, it had been estimated that the eruption took place much later, between c. 400 AD and c. 500 AD.

San Isdro
The San Isdro site is one of the most important Jama-Coaque sites, likely the place of government and important ritual. Platformed mounds have been found here, as well as many important artefacts.

Economy
Evidence suggests that they had a subsistence economy, relying on a combination of foraging and agriculture to supply food. As their society grew, they moved towards more intensive agriculture, storing grain in bell-shaped pits. This storage allowed the culture to support a densely populated civilization, as well as construction of (no???)

The stone tools found have been similar to the stone tools of other Regional Developmental cultures.

Trade
Remains of ocean fish and seafood indicates that there may have been trade with other South American cultures, (no???)Archeologist Betty Meggers proposed the idea of contact between the Jama-Coaque people and Mesoamerican cultures, citing the Jama-Coaque peoples' use of traditionally-Mesoamerican details such as highly feathered costumes, use of yellow, green, black, and white paint, as well as other similarities in "dress and ornament." She also points towards Jama-Coaque-style stamps and masks being found in Mesoamerican archeological sites and evidence for trade, sporadic or consistent, between the two sets of peoples.

In the 1980s, the skull of young adult man with criss-cross markings carved into his teeth was found. Previously, this type of dental work had only been seen in Mesoamerican cultures.

Discovery
-not sure if there's much on this, but I'll see what I can find

Looting
Large numbers of figurines were looted, possibly from the San Isdro site.

Geography
A valley, it seems- with some really angry volcanos nearby.

Artefacts
Examples of more common Jama-Coaque artefacts include whistles and flutes, spindle whorls, headrests, and stamps with animal or geometric designs. Less common artefacts include stools, animal-shaped pipes, miniature masks, and obsidian mirrors{Sfn|Giesso|2018|p=150}.

Figurines
The Jama-Coaque culture is most known for its highly decorated figurines. The figurines may have been used for ritual purposes, and the type and degree of ornamentation would have likely indicated the rank or clan the figurine represented. The fronts of figurines were cast, with the backs being made later, nearly exclusively by hand. After casting, additional details were adding. Those additions would have also been made in molds. Meggers and Cummins point to this as evidence that the figurines were mass-produced, or, at the very least, made by specialized artisans rather the common people.

Male, female, and hybrid human-animal figurines have been found, though some figurines that have been found show feminine bodies wearing what modern researchers assume to be masculine clothes, and vice-versa. Masculine clothing in Jama-Coaque figurines includes elaborate headdress, and they wear either highly-decorated ponchos over a loincloth, or more simple trousers and shirt. Feminine figurines wore either nothing, or more simple headdresses and skirts. Both wore jewelry such as nose and ear-rings. According to María Fernanda Ugalde, an Ecuadorian anthropologist and professor, the cross-dressing figurines could indicate a degree of acknowledgement of gender-nonconforming or transgender individuals within the Jama-Coaque society.

The figurines typically have horizontal or slanting eyes shaped like a capital "D", with the round part facing up. Some figurines lack arms, instead containing indents where moveable arms would have been attached.